Fishing and skinning
Carry a fishing rod to fish rivers, lakes and the sea from the shore, and a skinning knife to take more from a beast you have slain.
Fishing
Carry a fishing rod in your bag and walk to the edge of water at least 0.8 m deep. Within about 12 m of a good spot the prompt offers to fish; press F to start casting and again to stop. A cast takes 7 seconds, up to a third less as your Fishing rises to 100, and lands a fish. Nobody without a rod is offered the prompt, and you cannot fish while swimming or mounted.
| Water | Fish, tier 1 to 5 | Rare catch |
|---|---|---|
| Rivers and lakes | Perch, Trout, Pike, Sturgeon, Goldfin Carp | Bog Amber, at tier 3 and up |
| The sea | Herring, Cod, Sea Bass, Swordfish, Silver Eel | Sea Pearl, at tier 2 and up |
- Every cast lands a Perch or a Herring. A better spot also gives its own fish, and 2 casts in 100 its rare catch.
- Spots follow the same tiers as trees and rocks (see Chopping trees and breaking rock): in better waters about 2 spots in 5 are of that tier.
- A spot holds 5 to 9 casts and recovers 20 minutes after it is fished out.
- Rods: a plain Fishing Rod (a town's Merchant sells one), then Oak, Bronzewood, Wormwood and Elderheart rods for tiers 2 to 5, made by Bowyery at a workbench from 2 planks and 1 leather of their tier.
- Cooks turn Perch into Fisherman's Supper and Cod into Seafood Stew. See Packs, meals and weapon oils.
Skinning
Stand over a beast you have killed and press F to skin it with a skinning knife in your bag. This comes on top of whatever the kill dropped. A body gives 2 to 4 cuts of 2.5 seconds each; every cut gives a Hide, Meat one cut in two, and a 15% chance of one of the species' own trophies, rising to 30% at Skinning 100.
- A body's tier is how dangerous the creature was, from 1 to 5. Your knife and your Skinning level must both reach it.
- A beast's body that has not been skinned lies there its full 5 minutes, even once its loot is taken.
- Livestock, game, predators and great beasts, reptiles, crawling things, chimeric monsters, were-creatures, gloomfangs, dragons and creatures of the sea can be skinned. People never are, and neither are the undead, demons, giants or golems.
- Knives: a plain Skinning Knife (a town's Merchant sells one), then Truesteel, Galvor, Mithril and Adamant ones, made by Bladesmithing at a forge from 2 bars and 1 leather of their tier.